If we pretend Mingus is an imaginary Latin word, using the common Latin suffix -us, the other transformations of the word would be Minga and Mingum. If you’re curious about the peculiar title of this album, the “Ah” and “Um” are not verbal tics, but a pun based on Latin grammar. Name me a handful that’s ridiculous, Dannie Richmond. Then he’s a fool! Boo! Nazi fascist supremists!īoo! Ku Klux Klan (with your Jim Crow plan). Name me someone who’s ridiculous, Dannie. This kind of commentary, brimful of feeling, bitingly direct and harshly satiric, appears far too rarely in jazz.” Even in this instrumental version you can almost hear the powerful words in the chorus every time it returns. Faubus emerges in a glare of ridicule as a mock villain whom no-one really takes seriously. Critic Don Heckman commented on the song in 1962, calling it “a classic Negro put-down in which satire becomes a deadly rapier-thrust. The lyrics begin with a poignant chorus before continuing into a shouted call-and-response. The song had accompanying lyrics, but Columbia Records refused to allow them for the 1960 release of the album, so an instrumental version was recorded instead. The musical centerpiece of this album is the song “Fables of Faubus,” named for Orval Faubus, the governor of Arkansas who in 1957 used the National Guard to prevent the integration of schools in Little Rock. Many thought that “Bird Calls” was written as a tribute to Charlie “Bird” Parker, but Mingus later dispelled these rumors, saying that the virtuosic saxophone licks were not meant to sound like Parker, but instead like actual birds. In “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat,” “Open Letter to Duke,” and “Jelly Roll,” Mingus pays tribute to jazz greats Lester Young (known for often donning a pork pie hat), Duke Ellington, and early jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton. This is immediately evident in the gospel feel of the very first song on the album, “Better Git It in Your Soul.” Even without lyrics it’s easy to imagine a full choir belting out the high notes at the end of a bright and joyful Sunday service. All of the songs on this album are original Mingus compositions except for “Girl of My Dreams,” written by Sonny Clapp. His music is new, but strongly rooted in the past, paying tribute to important jazz ancestors and his own musical influences. This album is a compositional tour de force that shows off both technical versatility and a touching artistic sentimentality. Listening to this album, you’d have no idea of these early struggles with music. He played the trombone and the cello, but his inability to read sheet music stunted his early musical experiences. Mingus was born in Arizona but raised in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles to a multi-cultural family in his autobiography, his mother is described as “the daughter of an English/Chinese man and a South-American woman”, and his father as the son “of a black farm worker and a Swedish woman.” Despite his poor upbringing and education, Mingus was drawn to music from a young age, especially the music of Duke Ellington and the gospel music at church.
There’s no better introduction to his music than through his iconic album, Mingus Ah Um. Mingus is famed for his talent as a performer as well as his genius as a composer and bandleader his career also boasts some of the most unbelievable and entertaining anecdotes. So far this blog has explored current and historic names from the Chicago jazz scene, but today we’re going to take a brief visit to New York City to profile Charles Mingus, one of the most accomplished and storied bass players ever. Welcome back to our virtual jazz brunch series, where we help bring great jazz music to your living room.
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